


Starlight

by Nomil



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 09:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12528796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomil/pseuds/Nomil
Summary: With the frozen tundra for a classroom and the always kind Major Miles for a teacher, this is sure to be a lesson one fresh-faced Fort Briggs newbie will never forget.





	Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> When my great grandmother was a little girl, her father taught her how to use the stars in the sky to guide her home. With that in mind- along with a lovely headcanon from a dear friend- I wrote this.  
> To them, this is dedicated.
> 
> Originally written for Briggs Week 2k17 on tumblr

It was just Major Miles and a young Sergeant tonight, dutifully patrolling the base of the wall. There were other teams scouting elsewhere to cover more ground. But in this particular spot, they were alone.

Miles treaded through the fresh snow with expertise while the young Sergeant trailed behind, huffing and puffing all the while.

The Sergeant had introduced himself but a few days prior as Roland Knox. He was a fresh face from South City HQ- clear on the other side of the country. Miles could tell from his clumsy footfalls and the way he trembled beneath his military grade coat whenever they paused to take a look around that he was not accustomed to the cold, much less the Fort Briggs level of cold.

Why the higher-ups would want to assign such a young, inexperienced lad to the likes of this place, he’d never know.

The Major was kind in that he always volunteered to tag along with the rookies. Other officers tended to be apprehensive, fearing the clean-up that came with their potential mistakes. Not out of any sort of malice, but because a mistake around these parts tended to carry more weight. An inexperienced, inattentive soul was easy prey for Drachman spies. One wrong move and BAM! You’d have a bullet lodged in your sorry cranium. 

At least, that’s what the guys had told the young Sergeant in the mess hall- prattling on and on to the poor thing like older siblings teasing the youngest about the boogeyman coming to get them at night.

Even in the midst of his struggling, Sergeant Knox’s gaze seemed to dart about in all directions. Drachmans could be anywhere. They could strike at any time. They were just waiting for him to lower his guard. But he wasn’t going to play into their devious hands. At the first sight of one, he’d swing his rifle around, get his finger on the trigger an-

“Oof!”

Visions of crafty Drachman spies were blown away from his mind’s eye by the sight of the Major’s broad back right in front of his aching mug. His superior turned to look quizzically at him. Knox balked and quickly saluted.

“My apologies, sir! I was looking everywhere but…right in front of me…,” he trailed off meekly.

He braced himself for a harsh reprimand, but his fears and the racing of his heart were quelled as the Major held up a hand to reassure him.

“Don’t worry about it. Just be careful from now on. The night is still young.”

Sergeant Knox glanced behind them, looking at their trail in the snow that eventually led back towards the wall. Why, they’d hardly even moved! His chest that still heaved from its efforts and his calves that gave throbs of complaint filled him with shame. To think the Major would want to be stuck with such a greenhorn…he felt like burying himself in the snow they stood upon and just disappearing.

Miles observed the woeful expressions that played upon his subordinate’s face before turning his gaze up to the full moon. It shone brilliantly, bathing their surroundings in moonlight and making everything seem to glow. Twinkling stars dotted the night sky like an array of diamonds.

He held his hand up in front of him and turned it ever so slightly- shutting his left eye to get a better look. When Knox had snapped out of his sorry stupor, he saw what the Major was doing and the sight of it puzzled him.

“What are you doing, sir?”

Miles didn’t answer. At least, not right away. He kept silent until at last he spotted it, and he pointed at a particular spot in the sky.

“There. That’s Polaris- the north star. It shouldn’t have taken me this long to find it. I must be getting rusty,” he mused while scratching at the back of his head.

Knox kept looking at the star. Once you spotted it, you couldn’t miss it.

“Oh, and there,” Miles continued, now pointing to a different part of the sky. “That’s Canis Major. Which means Leo is right…over there.”

Knox followed his pointer finger as best he could. It took him a moment each time to realize just what he was looking at. Among the celestial mush, he began to see patterns. He noticed where the stars lined up and created precise formations. His eyes lit up with impressed wonder.

“Wow…all I ever learned how to find was the big dipper and the little dipper,” said Knox.

“It takes practice. No one becomes an astronomer overnight.”

Knox was excited now. It seemed that he’d gotten back some of his spark.

“What’s another one…?…Ah, I mean, sir,” he babbled, earning a chuckle from Miles.

The Major pointed out another constellation, and then another. He told the young Sergeant their names and their stories, and Roland listened carefully, trying to commit it all to memory.

“Wow, sir. How’d you learn about all this?”

“My grandfather taught me when I was a boy. Back then, I had many summers of practice.”

The mention of summer reminded Knox of just how cold it was out here. He’d been so immersed in his little astronomy lesson that he’d forgotten all about it.   
He tucked his gloved hands into his pockets.

“Did he teach you all of them?”

“Not all, but most. Just enough to help me find my way, should I ever need to.”

Miles was quiet for a moment. He took a few seconds to look around, which now reminded the young Sergeant that they were, in fact, still on patrol. The Major started walking again. Knox adjusted his rifle on his shoulder and quickly followed suit, wanting to keep up this time around.

“You mean, if you ever got lost, you’d be able to find your way back by using the stars?” Knox asked, breaking the silence.

“If I tried, I’m sure I could.”

“That’s pretty neat…though, I guess it wouldn’t be very handy if you got lost in the daytime.”

Miles laughed.

“Let’s hope I don’t. And if I do, I hope it’s with a map on my person.”

Knox smiled from his superior’s quip and glanced at the sky again. He wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it now- all the constellations hovering over them. When they stopped again, Knox looked around for but a few moments before looking up at the sky to see if he could find one.

“Hmm…there!”

He grinned and pointed rather triumphantly.

“What’s that one, sir?”

Miles came up behind Knox to see where he was pointing.

“…that’s the little dipper.”

Knox looked again.  
Oh.

He made a face and grumbled a bit to himself. From what Miles could tell, it was something about being an idiot. He smiled and took a hold of his arm.

“But if you look over here…”

He moved Knox a little to the right and then raised his arm slightly.

“…you’ll find Meleneth.”

“Meleneth…,” Knox repeated, getting a feel for the name on his tongue. “What’s that one’s story?”

Miles’ expression seemed to harden somewhat. It wasn’t until he removed his grip from Knox’s arm and remained silent for a few moments that Knox turned to look at him, and he saw the hesitation there on his superior’s face.

“…sir?”

Miles looked at Knox- saw the strange mixture of confusion and worry in his eyes- and offered a small smile of reassurance before looking back up at the sky again.

“…Meleneth was a young woman who lived centuries ago. At the time, there was a great drought that spread disease and suffering across the land, and the people started to lose their faith. They felt that their god, Ishvala, had betrayed and forsaken them.”

The name Ishvala made the young Sergeant stiffen up a bit. Such a name wasn’t uttered very often amongst the military. And when it was, the subject matter was… _ unpleasant _ .

“Meleneth rose up and defended their God,” Miles continued. “She said that their devotion was being put to the test. She said that they need only believe, and their trial would come to an end. And to show them, she began to pray.”

Knox’s nerves slowly began to slip away, and he listened carefully to every word of the story.

“She prayed for several days and nights without stop. Those who watched her feared for her life, but admired her devotion. Soon, they too joined her in prayer, and they persisted for days on end as she had. Then, at last, the rains came and the people cried out with joy. They began to sing praises to Ishvala, and to Meleneth for showing them the way to salvation. And when the rains filled a great basin there among the desert and created a lake, they named it for her. As they did that constellation.”

Knox looked at the constellation once more. And now that he thought of it, he could see it- the image of a woman sitting, her hands clasped before her.

“…so,” Knox began in a small voice. “In Ishval, there’s a lake named Meleneth?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“…yes.”

Silence occupied the space between the pair once more. Neither of them said anything. Neither of them even thought about saying anything. Or at least, Miles didn’t. But as usual, Knox was the first to finally speak up.

“Your grandfather sounds like a smart man.”

Miles looked at Knox.

“I mean, anyone who knows about all this stuff has to be smart. A dunderhead like me could never think to use something like the sky as a map.”

Miles gave a little snort.

“You’re no dunderhead. Far from it, in fact. If you were, a timber wolf would have come and snatched you away by now. They always go for the weak ones first.”

He reached to tousle Knox’s hair.

“There’s plenty filling that skull of yours.”

Knox made a good-natured whine of protest and grabbed at Miles’ hands, making his superior laugh yet again. They went back and forth like that for a while longer before resuming walking. Knox kept his gaze focused on their surroundings now like a dutiful little soldier boy. And in spite of how much he really wanted to, he resisted stealing any more glances up at the sky.

“Major Miles, sir. I know you say I’m not a dunderhead, but come tomorrow and I’ll forget everything, I’m sure.”

Miles smiled and prepared words of reassurance, but they were immediately forgotten as Knox continued.

“So, do you think that next time, you could show me again? Or maybe at a time when there’s _not_ a risk of us being shot at?”

“…of course.”

The Major and his faithful subordinate carried on with lifted spirits, the latter at last giving in and looking up at the sky again.

“Okay, that one is Leo! Right?”

“…nope. Now that’s the  _ big _ dipper.”

 


End file.
